


Flos Gelida

by kalihiro



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Hanahaki Disease, M/M, remi and ignis have one line
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:53:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21679303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kalihiro/pseuds/kalihiro
Summary: Lio was perfect. Lio was cool. Lio knew how to keep his emotions in check, right?
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 5
Kudos: 117





	Flos Gelida

Lio had only two things on his mind: pizza and his imminent death.

Well, perhaps three things, but he was doing his absolute best to avoid thinking about the man across from him.

Galo Thymos was an unstoppable force of kindness, dedication, and love for all. If he wasn't out saving scientists from a burning building, he was out saving the world. And if he wasn't doing that, he was here, usually with the rest of Burning Rescue, scarfing down his fifth pizza.

Lio was also unstoppable in his own ways, one of which was probably being even more hard headed than Galo. Despite the many lectures he's gotten from Galo since "we're best friends now, you have to ask me to help you with stuff!", Lio has, and will be for the foreseeable future, very independent.

That's not to say that he doesn't want Galo around, but leaning on the blue haired idiot for emotional support was the last thing he needed right now.

"You don wook sho good." Galo commented, mouth full. Lio pried his attention away from the table he was staring holes into and up to Galo's eyes; big and bright and full of concern.

"Fine." Lio sighed and shrugged dramatically. "Still just a ton of work I have to do regarding the burnish, mostly the excavation project to dig out anything or _anyone_ that might still be out in the rubble from when Freeze Force attacked the base. But somebody insisted that I "need to get out more" and I've been "sitting in front of a computer for like 16 hours now, this is unhealthy". So here I am." He threw up air quotes as he spoke.

"Sorry." Galo pouted. "You've just been working sooooooooo much, you needed a break dude!"

"You aren't necessarily wrong, but I enjoy the work I'm doing, so I don't care for breaks." Galo pouted, again, and Lio felt a familiar ache in his gut.

"Okay, you really don't look so good." Galo pushed his seat back and walk around the table, crouching down next to Lio's seat. He pushed the blonde's hair back, resting his palm on his forehead. "Goodness! Lio, you're freezing! Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"

"I'm not sick." Lio swatted his hand away. The longer Galo stayed close, the more his chest began to ache, the more he felt like his stomach was being ripped to shreds inside of him.

Galo sat back on his heel, obviously not believing him, but also knowing that pushing Lio any further in public was a bad idea. He may not wield fire anymore, but Galo learned one too many times that Lio knows his way around a fork.

"I'll get something to go for you! We can head back after. You need to rest!" Galo hopped back up, making his way into the pizzeria once again.

Lio let his head fall to the table, smacking against the hard plastic with a loud _thud_. He watched Galo through the windows, the pain growing worse and worse and worse with every passing second. But still he watched. And still he found himself more in love every moment. He found himself enamored with how expressive Galo was with everyone he spoke to and how he got all bashful every time someone recognized him and thanked him. He found himself engrossed with his smile and how broad his chest was and his hair when it was pulled back into a ponytail. Galo turned to wave at Lio through the glass, a sort of unspoken signal between them that meant, "the pizza will be done in five!". _It grew worse_.

The feeling began to rise inside of him, starting in his gut and working his way up and he knew all too well what was about to transpire.

Lio stood up suddenly, knocking the chair backwards and onto the stone ground of the patio. He drew attention from the rest of the customers, which only added to how overwhelmed he felt. He had to leave, he had to hide, he couldn't allow anyone to see him like-

"Lio?" Galo's hand rest on Lio's shoulder, big and warm and all too nerve wracking.

"I think you're right. I am sick. I have to go."

"Okay! I know you like to do things on your own, but you look like you can barely walk!" Galo shouted. "I'll come pick the pizza up later. I'll drive you back."

Lio knew arguing was a losing fight once Galo had set his mind on something.

"Fine, fine." Lio shoved Galo's hand off of him for the second time that day, earning a pout from the other man.

Lio was nowhere near as physically affectionate as Galo, few people were. But he rarely shied away when Galo reached for his hand or tried to envelope him in a hug. So with Lio swatting him away and refusing to look at him, Galo felt this was more deeply rooted than a bug.

* * *

"I'll meet you inside once I get back!" Galo smiled brightly and waved as he dropped Lio off around the back entrance to the Burning Rescue "apartment" building. It was simply three stories with a small space for every member, Lio and Galo the only ones who regularly used theirs. Whether the others actually stayed there or just used the space for personal storage depended on the day.

Lio stumbled up the stairs to his quarters. The halls were empty and the lights were off, everyone except for Galo and himself either busy or working, for which he was grateful. As he fumbled with his keys, he felt like he was being ripped apart from the inside out, as if a black hole had opened up in his stomach.

Finally getting through the lock, he threw his keys down and bolted the door behind him before he fell to his knees. His back arched and his stomach lurched as he gagged one, two, three times. The pain he felt earlier worked its way up through his esophagus while sending a shiver down his spine.

Finally, relief came in the form of three flowers and a little too much blood. The frozen flowers hit the ground and shattered.

Love was supposed to be warm, was it not? It was supposed to leave you feeling safe and held, not cold and dying. But this, Lio supposed, was his curse. He would never truly be able to be happy, would he?

* * *

"Pi-i-zza for meeeee. Ca-a-ake for Liiiiiiooooooooo~ Because when you're saaaaaad, you need to eat lots of cake to not feel so baaaaaad~." Galo sung as he walked to his quarters, fully expecting Lio to be waiting for him as he always was.

He had been racking his brain the entire ride to get the pizza and the entire way back, searching for a reason that Lio might be acting this way. The only thing he'd come up with was Lio being mad at him. But for what? He had nooooo idea.

"Lio!" Galo shouted excitedly as he entered his room, pizza held high above his head.

But there was no reply.

There was none of the usual "quiet down!" being thrown at him from the blonde that'd essentially claimed his bed.

There was no soft smile to greet him as the shorter boy attempted to take the pizza box directly from Galo's hands.

There was nothing there to greet him except an empty room, dark and a little too cold.

He set the pizza down on the counter, grabbed a fork from the drawer, and made his way to Lio's quarters.

Lio lived one floor up, the only inhabitant of the third floor. Galo had told him it seemed lonely, being the only person who's ever up there. But Lio would shrug, say he's used to it, and leave it that.

Galo hated that.

He didn't want Lio to still be used to being alone.

He wanted Lio to come to him, whenever he needed to. He wanted Lio to feel welcome and loved and safe.

"Lio?" Galo shouted, knocking a little too loudly and startling Lio.

Lio stared at the door in horror, remembering now that he hadn't locked it.

"Don't come in." He did his best to raise his voice, but his throat was sore and torn up from crying and the ice flowers that were threatening to make their way up once more.

"I-" Galo took his hand off the knob. "I won't. But, uh, I wanted to check on you."

"I'm fine."

"You really don't _sound_ fine."

"Just go away, really I'm o-" Lio was interrupted by his own vomiting. He began to cry once more because he knew Galo. He knew that upon hearing him gag, he'd be bursting through the door any second now, and he'd have to find some way to explain this.

The first flower hit the floor as Galo burst through, stopping dead in his tracks. He watched Lio as he was hunched over, sobbing onto the cement floors of his quarters and clawing at his throat in a desperate attempt to keep any more from coming up.

"Go away."

"Lio, I can't ju-"

"Go! Away!" Lio screamed and looked up at Galo. His eyes were puffy, the skin around them rubbed raw, and blood stained his teeth as it trickled out from his mouth.

Galo jumped, dropping the container in his hand and sending the cake to the floor. "Sorry… So-Sorry." He stuttered, stumbling back out of Lio's quarters and into the hallway, shutting the door behind him.

Lio broke down into tears and Galo did his best to pretend he couldn't hear the broken sobs coming from him. He knew the last thing Lio wanted right now was to be seen, but Galo couldn't bring himself to leave him completely alone.

* * *

Lio woke up a few hours later, assuming it must be night now as his room was pitch black and the only thing he could see was a pile of paper in front of the door and a faint light coming from underneath it.

Lio pushed himself up onto his knees, unable to gather the strength to go any further. Nevertheless, he was able to scoot across the floor to the papers, taking out his own phone to shine on them.

_write here what u want if u get hungry. when u throw up u lose lots of fluids and nutrients_

_im sorry about the cake i will clean it up later_

_do u want another cake?_

_oh sorry i cant fit the pen under the door_

_text me if u feel okay enough to use ur phone!_

Lio smiled softly at the papers and hoped the fit he had earlier wouldn't repeat itself.

He appreciated Galo's kindness, really. But at times like this… he wished that Galo would just leave him alone.

**To: Galo _8:37 p.m._**

_i'm fine. pretend you saw nothing and we can go on about our lives._

Lio heard Galo's phone chirp followed by the latter fumbling the device and dropping it outside the door.

**To: Lio _8:39 p.m._**

_i respect u and ur space but ur definitely not fine!!!!_

_u threw up!!! ice??? and BLOOD. BLOOD LIO. THATS NEVER GOOD._

**To: Galo _8:42 p.m._**

_idiot. i know why i'm throwing up the blood, so it's not a big deal. this will all go away with time. so just drop it._

**To: Lio _8:46 p.m._**

_i was actually doing research earlier while i waited!_

_the. flowers?? ig?? theyre from unresponded love!_

**To: Galo _8:47 p.m._**

_unrequited._

**To: Lio _8:50 p.m._**

_same thing!!!_

_this just means that if i can help u out, then ull get better!!!_

**To: Galo _8:51 p.m._**

_please, just drop this._

Lio felt his stomach tighten once more. Of all the people to fall for, it had to be the one guy who doesn't leave anybody alone.

**To: Lio _8:53 p.m._**

_its probably meis or…. uhh…._

_gorilla? guillermo?_

**To: Galo _8:54 p.m._**

_...gueira._

_and no. it's none of them. it's nobody. i don't know why i have this._

"Agh, my phone died! Lio!" Galo shouted. Lio sighed and reached up onto the table near his door, hoping a pen was in there.

_be quiet. just go back to your place and we can forget about this._

He scribbled onto the paper quickly and shoved it back under the door.

"Why are you so set on ignoring this? Lio, you didn't look well." Galo's voice dropped.

"...I am, okay?" Lio spoke softly, his throat raw from earlier.

"Do you want to stay with me tonight? It's honestly so super lonely without you." Galo spoke softly. Lio wondered if he was doing this on purpose, if he knew how much those simple words meant to him, or if he was _really_ just that blind.

"No. I'll make a mess of your apartment. I already have enough to clean up off of my floor." Lio sighed.

"Then I can stay here."

"You can not." Lio groaned, his chest aching once more. "I need you to leave me alone."

"Then I will stay right here! It is close enough." Lio didn't have to see Galo to know the stupid grin he had plastered across his face.

"In the hallway? Galo, please just go back to your place and sleep in a bed like a normal person."

"Nope! If you won't come out and I can't go in, then I will stay right here!"

"...You're so stupid."

* * *

"Ainaaaa!!! Ainaaaaaa!!!!!" Galo screamed into the main part of the Burning Rescue building.

"Can you stop yelling so loud?!" She appeared behind him, her ears covered.

"Where's everyone else?" Galo asked, volume back to normal.

"Not here yet." She responded. She gave Galo a weird look and let him continue.

"I have two requests for you." He leaned close, whispering the next part even though they were the only ones there. "And only you."

"Ooookay?"

"One: something for my neck. It hurts like hell." Galo rubbed at the back of his neck roughly.

"Oh? Spend the night with Lio~?"

"Yeah. Well, kind of. I slept on the floor outside of his door. And that brings me to request number two!" He grabbed Aina's hands. "Help me figure out who Lio's in love with!"

"...This is gonna be a long day."

* * *

"You're telling me that Lio is inside his quarters right now throwing up _flowers made of ice_?" Aina stared at the blue haired man across from her in disbelief. "I mean, the idea of Promare was pretty crazy, but I'm not sure I believe this…"

"No, it's true! But you can't tell anyone… He didn't even want me to know but I'm telling you because I know you can help!"

"How exactly? Even if this is real, I've never heard of this happening before. I have no idea how to fix it." Aina sighed.

"I do! I did some research!" Galo pulled out his phone and showed her the website. "Hanahaki! A disease caused by unrequited love! So if we can figure out who Lio loves and set them up, he won't be sick anymore!"

"Not sure it'll be that easy." Aina handed the phone back to Galo. "After all, what if he's fallen for the most clueless person on Earth?"

"Then we just tell them! They'll want to help."

"Okay, Galo. Let me ask you something." Aina began. "What is love to you?"

"To me?"

"Yes, to you. You can't begin to help someone with love problems if you yourself don't understand it. So out with it. What is love to you?"

"Oh, well, uh…" Galo thought long and hard and Aina thought he was going to burst a blood vessel. "Hanging out with all of you guys! Helping others! I love doing that!"

"Exactly. They are things you love _to do_. They are not a person." Aina continued. "Have you seriously never had romantic feelings for anyone?"

"You have?"

"E-even if I have, it has no relevance to this situation!" Aina huffed. "Now, keep thinking. Who is _someone_ that you love?"

"You?" Galo looked up at her.

"Again, not the type of love I'm talking about here. I mean, you wouldn't ever want to kiss me, right?"

"Oh, that's a good point…" Galo sighed. "I just don't get it."

"Okay." Aina rest a hand on Galo's shoulder. "Let's try another way. Answer these questions yes or no." Galo nodded intently. "Is there someone you look forward to seeing? All the time?"

"Yes."

"Is there someone you are always thinking about?"

"Yes."

"Is there someone you find yourself doing little things for all the time?"

"Yes."

"Is there someone you can not live without?"

"Yes."

"Now that we've discussed this, why don't you go tell Lio you're in love with him?" Aina smiled gently. Galo sat back, shocked, looking almost terrified. "What? Is it _not_ Lio?"

"No, I was just… you can read minds?" Galo asked, completely genuinely.

Aina smacked her face into her palm. "Good lord…"

"How do you know all that stuff, though? And how do you know Lio loves _me_?"

Aina looked him up and down, a sheepish smile across her face. "Let's just say I can understand how Lio feels. The way he acts around you, the way he clings to you, the way he lights up when you're around. It's obvious, Galo. Clearly to everyone but you. So, that means now you have gotta go and help him!"

"You're right!" Galo stood up dramatically. "Ah, wait!"

"What now?" Aina groaned.

"I have to go get another slice of cake for him!"

"Galo, I don't think this is the time. You told me he was throwing up blood?"

"No, no! It's really important!" Galo ran off, grabbing his bike helmet from the table by the door and booking it out of there.

"He's hopeless…"

* * *

Galo thought the whole way there and the whole way back. He thought about what Aina said. He thought about Lio. He thought about how he felt…

He knew now, this was love. Undeniable, true, pure love

The way Lio had practically claimed his bed. The way Lio held onto him, always. The way he always got things for Galo and would tell him, "I just happened to see it. It's nothing special."

Galo thought Lio was just scared at first, of being out in society for the first time. But he never clung to the other members of Burning Rescue that way. Or even the other Burnish… Just. Galo.

"I'm sorry, Lio…"

* * *

"Lio! Lio!" Galo knocked vigorously. "I really have to talk to you!"

He waited for a moment, waiting to hear Lio moving around inside. Waiting for him to answer the door.

But five minutes passed.

Then ten.

Fifteen.

And at twenty Galo was busting down the door, shouting apologies and saying he'd pay to fix it later.

But there was no one around to hear those apologies.

"...Lio?" Galo shouted once more, setting the cake down on the counter. "Is he sleeping?"

"Lio! It's nearly noon! I have to talk to you!" He shouted from outside Lio's bedroom door. All it took for him to burst through was hearing the faintest groan from the other side.

Lio lay still, hands clutching his chest. Galo could see the tiniest bit of ice making its way down Lio's arms.

"Lio!" Galo shouted, running over to his bed and taking the blonde in his arms. He knew the ice must've originated somewhere in his torso, judging by how Lio was holding on to it so tightly.

"P..lease ju….st.. go…" Lio croaked out, breath ice cold against Galo's skin. "There's n...nothing….yo..u...can…. do…"

"I will save you, Lio. I'll save you as many times as I have to." Galo held him tightly as he carried him into the bathroom. He started the bath, running the water as hot as he could get it without burning Lio's skin.

"Ga..lo. Ple...ease jus…. stop.."

"Lio, I'm going to save you. I… I love you. I can't lose you." Lio stared up at Galo in disbelief, blush spreading across the latter's face.

"You'r...e…. just...saying that… out of pity…" Lio shivered.

"No, I'm not! I love you, Lio! I do!" Galo confessed again as he set Lio down in the warm water. "I will be right back. I have to get something. Please… please hold on."

Galo stood up, an aching in his chest as he left Lio behind in that state.

He ran downstairs, to the main building, shouting at every member of Burning Rescue.

"Where's the heating blankets?!" Galo screamed, searching and searching through the stock room.

"Why? What's going on?" Remi asked.

Galo looked up at Aina with pleading eyes.

"Oh. Oh god." She gasped. "They're over here. The ones on top should be fully charged, but take a few just in case."

Galo scooped up the whole stack and left, leaving everyone else in a confused daze.

"Care to shed some light on that for us?" Ignis asked.

"Let's just say our Galo is growing up." She smiled softly.

* * *

"Lio! I'm back!" Galo shouted as he rushed through the room back to where Lio was. Lio was reaching over the edge weakly. Galo quickly took his hand in his. "I'm back. I'm back…"

"Did you mean it?" Lio asked shyly.

"Of course. I don't ever lie." Galo smiled proudly.

"Yeah…" Lio laughed weakly. "I suppose it is true, considering I'm not in pain anymore."

"Oh, hold on." Galo let go of Lio's hand and pulled his sweatshirt off. "It's really warm. Put this on once you're dry."

"...We're in _my_ place right now. All of my clothes are here?" Lio protested, but Galo simply tossed a towel at him and left the room after picking the blanket pile back up.

Lio let the water drain, shedding off his soaking wet clothes and laying them in the tub to dry, and he put on Galo's sweatshirt as instructed. It went down to his mid thigh, swallowing him completely.

He left the bathroom being greeted by Galo in the living with a blanket.

"It's heated." Galo commented as he wrapped Lio up in it, picking him up once more.

"...You really don't have to keep picking me up."

"I guess I just like to?" Galo smiled shyly as he sat on the couch, setting the Lio cocoon in his lap.

Lio spotted the new cake slice that was now on the coffee table and he felt that maybe he was right.

Love was warm.

**Author's Note:**

> this is all over the place and i really apologize...
> 
> like lio, i am sick rn and i wrote the last 1.7k words in one word vomit session so thats why the end of this is the way it is


End file.
